Chapter 136: Scent-Seeker

When Cui Yuan saw Niu Youdao and the others leave with their luggage, he followed at a distance until he was near the main hall.

Only after watching an attendant lead the entire group toward the hidden passage did Cui Yuan confirm that the situation had changed.

Niu Youdao had not separated from Black Peony and the others.

They had checked out and left together through the Inviting Moon Inn’s secret route. Cui Yuan cursed inwardly and quickly left the inn.

Behind the counter, Bai Yulou glanced at Cui Yuan’s departing back with the detached interest of someone waiting to see how matters would develop.

He wondered whether Xuanyuan Dao could escape the Liuxian Sect’s pursuit.

One thing, however, puzzled him.

If Xuanyuan Dao truly had a feud with the Liuxian Sect and genuinely wanted to escape their pursuit, would it not have been safer for him to slip away alone?

Why insist on bringing along Black Peony and the others, who were secretly dealing with the Liuxian Sect? Cui Yuan rushed to the Liuxian Sect shop.

The moment he entered, he shouted toward Huang Engui behind the counter, “Senior Brother, the situation has changed.”

Huang Engui stood. “What happened?”

Cui Yuan hurried to the counter, face anxious. “Niu Youdao and Black Peony’s group checked out together. They didn’t split up. All of them left through the Inviting Moon Inn’s hidden passage.”

Huang Engui asked, “What happened with Lei Zongkang? He didn’t contact you beforehand?”

Cui Yuan shook his head. “No. If I hadn’t been watching and seen it myself, I probably wouldn’t even know they’d left.”

Huang Engui’s face darkened. “Could Lei Zongkang be playing us?”

“It doesn’t look like it,” Cui Yuan said. “Lei Zongkang should understand the consequences of trying to trick us. If he really were playing us, Niu Youdao should have learned the truth long ago and secretly fled. Why would he keep circling around and taking risks until now?”

“And when Lei Zongkang left, he gave me a look. He seemed helpless too. It looked more like Niu Youdao changed his mind at the last moment and gave him no time to notify us.”

Huang Engui frowned. “Could Lei Zongkang have been exposed?”

Cui Yuan hesitated. “That doesn’t seem right either. If Lei Zongkang had truly been exposed, why would Niu Youdao still take him along? He could simply have slipped away and left him behind. Why carry a liability beside him?”

The two considered the possibilities.

In the end, there seemed to be only one explanation. Niu Youdao himself was excessively cautious and had deliberately thrown out layer after layer of feints to guard against anyone learning his true movements.

“That wretch really is cunning!” Huang Engui snarled.

Cui Yuan gave a helpless laugh. “What do we do about Martial Uncle?”

Huang Engui’s head hurt as well. After Niu Youdao’s move, Shanhu County could easily have been nothing but another smokescreen. He might never go there at all.

Yet Gao Sucong had personally mobilized men from three factions and rushed through the night to Shanhu County to make preparations. They had been gone nearly ten hours.

By the time this side sent word over, and by the time those men returned to conduct a search, it would be a joke. Niu Youdao would already be who knew where.

Worse, Niu Youdao had already left through the Inviting Moon Inn’s secret passage.

With only the two of them, trying to find Niu Youdao in the vast mountain ranges was no different from searching for a needle in the sea. Even several times their manpower might not be enough.

Still, whatever happened, they had to inform Gao Sucong and let him decide what to do.

The two quickly wrote an urgent secret report, placed it on a Goldenwing, and sent the bird away.

Once that was done, Huang Engui dropped into a chair and sighed. “If we want to know what’s happening with Lei Zongkang, that’s simple enough. We’ll see whether he scatters the scent bait and sends us word.”

Cui Yuan sat down beside him. At this point, the two were helpless.

All they could do was wait for Gao Sucong’s decision—or place their hopes on Lei Zongkang...

Inside the gardens of the City Master’s residence, Chief Steward Xiang Ming looked less like a steward than a gardener.

At least, Bai Yulou often saw him personally taking shears to the garden’s flowers and plants.

Today was no different.

“They left?”

After hearing Bai Yulou’s report, Xiang Ming stopped trimming and slowly turned toward him, looking faintly surprised.

Bai Yulou bowed slightly. “Yes. They just left through the secret route. The attendant personally confirmed it.”

Xiang Ming fell silent.

He had assumed Niu Youdao was deliberately trying to approach Sha Huanli.

So he had watched coldly, thinking anyone who dared scheme against Sha Huanli truly did not know the height of Heaven or the depth of earth. He wanted to see what game this reckless fellow intended to play.

Instead, Niu Youdao had shown no intention of ingratiating himself or drawing close. He had directly demanded a sum of money.

Now he had simply left.

“It seems this old man was overthinking things.” Xiang Ming gave a faintly self-mocking smile.

Bai Yulou smiled along. “There’s never anything wrong with being a little cautious.”

Xiang Ming asked, “What is that man’s background? I spoke with him, but he refused to reveal it. The Liuxian Sect is obviously hostile toward him, though. If Chief Steward wants to know, asking the Liuxian Sect should probably make matters clear.”

Xiang Ming slanted a glance at him. “I heard he gave you quite a bit of benefit.”

Bai Yulou’s heart tightened.

He had known the matter would eventually reach Xiang Ming’s ears.

With a sheepish chuckle, he said, “I saw that the City Master liked his paintings and worried she might summon him again, so I gave him a small hint or two. Who would have guessed he’d be so generous? Free money is free money. I didn’t refuse it. Chief Steward can rest assured. I know the rules. Star-Plucking City’s position is detached. We do not casually involve ourselves in those messy affairs. I’ll keep a proper sense of proportion.”

“As long as you know.” Xiang Ming’s tone remained mild. “If you need money, say so. Don’t extend a hand where it shouldn’t reach. Otherwise, no amount of money can buy you peace.”

He turned back and resumed trimming the flowers and plants...

Splash! Splash! Splash!

One figure after another burst from the raging river and landed on shore.

It was Niu Youdao’s group.

The others were still in good condition. Only Yuan Fang was soaked through, water dripping from his entire body.

His cultivation was insufficient to resist the pressure of the current for that long.

Using several distant mountain peaks to determine their position, Niu Youdao chose a direction and led the group swiftly through the mountain ranges.

As they raced onward, Lei Zongkang rolled a soybean-sized pellet between his fingers.

He cracked the wax shell and, without showing anything on his face, let it fall to the ground as he ran.

After the group disappeared into the distance, the pellet left on the earth began changing in the open air.

Its surface slowly roughened.

The exposed substance weathered, and a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance began to drift out.

They cut across the mountains and emerged to find another boundless Gobi stretching before them.

In the distance, the shape of a horse yard could faintly be seen.

This was not the same horse yard Niu Youdao had used when arriving.

Cultivators came to Star-Plucking City from every direction, so the city maintained horse yards on several sides of the surrounding mountains. These horse yards were not small businesses.

In fact, each one probably earned no less than the Inviting Moon Inn.

Large numbers of cultivators rode horses to Star-Plucking City and left their mounts at the horse yards. Many never returned by the same route.

Any horse left behind was effectively a free gift to the business.

If a mount remained boarded long enough that the accumulated fees exceeded the price of buying another horse, almost no one would come back to redeem it. Niu Youdao himself was a perfect example.

He had no intention of returning to the horse yard where he had left his original mount. Instead, he led the group toward this one.

The yard contained plenty of abandoned horses, so there was no shortage of mounts for sale. The six of them bought six horses.

Moments later, hoofbeats thundered as they raced away from the horse yard and plunged into the depths of the Gobi.

From horseback, Black Peony and the others kept glancing at one another.

Earlier, they had agreed they would not go to any horse yard and would travel on foot. Now there was no need to ask. Master Dao’s plan had obviously changed again.

When they checked the direction of travel, they found they were not heading toward Shanhu County at all.

Whether Niu Youdao intended to make a detour or whether Shanhu County had been a smokescreen from the beginning, no one knew.

Before setting out, he had repeated that they were going to Shanhu County.

At this point, however, Niu Youdao’s repeated twists and turns had left the whole group somewhat dizzy.

By now Black Peony and the others had learned one thing clearly.

Do not ask.

If he meant to tell you, he naturally would. If not, questions would get nothing from him.

Niu Youdao’s constant changes of plan, however, made Lei Zongkang increasingly uneasy. Why was Niu Youdao being this cautious?

Had he discovered something?

Back inside the Liuxian Sect shop, the two senior and junior disciples sat helplessly in a daze.

Cui Yuan had already returned to the Inviting Moon Inn, checked out of his room, and come back. For now, the two could do nothing but wait.

Suddenly, from a birdcage hanging beneath one of the beams came a burst of frantic chirping. The two men snapped their heads around.

Inside the cage, three small green-feathered birds were hopping and fluttering wildly from perch to perch.

These birds were called Scent-Seekers.

The two men turned toward each other at the same instant and blurted out together, “Lei Zongkang!”

Both sprang to their feet.

Cui Yuan said anxiously, “Senior Brother, what do we do? By the time Martial Uncle and the others return, the scent bait’s effect will already have dispersed.”

Huang Engui said in a deep voice, “We can’t let that bastard get away. We go find him ourselves!”

Cui Yuan grabbed his arm. “Senior Brother, even if Lei Zongkang stands on our side, Black Peony and the other two haven’t made their positions clear. Add Niu Youdao’s side, and that gives them five people. If just two of them hold us up, Niu Youdao may escape. Can the two of us really be certain of success?”

Huang Engui answered without hesitation. “We’ll get the men left behind by Fuyun Sect and Lingxiu Mountain. They’ll help. Otherwise, if men from all three factions join forces and still fail to stop that wretch, they won’t be able to bear the humiliation either.”

Cui Yuan swept a hand around the shop. “If no one stays here, what happens to all this merchandise? The goods in this shop are worth a great deal!”

“There’s no time to pack anything,” Huang Engui said. “Hang a closed sign at the entrance and lock the doors properly. No one will dare break in.”

“If we sit here doing nothing like blocks of wood, fail to adapt, and let that Niu thief escape, the sect will question our ability. Our future prospects will suffer!”

Cui Yuan thought about it and agreed. Outsiders did not know the circumstances inside. No one would casually break into a sect’s shop and create trouble.

The two immediately prepared.

They took the Scent-Seeker birds from the cage, brought a Goldenwing as well, locked the doors, hung a closed sign, and departed.

They went first to the shops belonging to Fuyun Sect and Lingxiu Mountain.

Before long, both those shops had also hung closed signs. The three factions gathered a total of six men and rapidly left Star-Plucking City.

Once they reached the mountains outside, Cui Yuan released a Scent-Seeker. The little bird circled several times in the sky. Then it swiftly flew in one direction. The six men immediately raced after it. The terrain below limited their speed.

Whenever they fell too far behind, Cui Yuan took out a small flute and blew several sharp notes.

At the sound, the Scent-Seeker descended and waited on the ground.

Once everyone caught up, another whistle from the flute sent the bird shooting into the air again.

Before long, the group found the first scent bait Lei Zongkang had discarded.

The Scent-Seeker swooped down, seized the pellet in its beak, and swallowed it in one gulp. Then it hopped about happily, clearly fond of the food.

Huang Engui and the others looked at the location where the pellet had been found. It was indeed not far from the river route.

Their confidence rose.

They continued the pursuit.

[End of Chapter 136]